Warwickshire Cricket Board

Warwickshire Under 9s Finals Day

On Monday 23rd July, Edgbaston played host to the Warwickshire Cricket Board Under 9s Soft Ball Finals day. The recent heat wave showed no signs of letting up as the ground provided a perfect setting for a memorable experience for all involved and the days cricket did not disappoint.
12 clubs from across the county were invited to take part in the tournament due to their success in local festivals throughout the summer. The teams attending were as follows; Knowle and Dorridge, Moseley, Sheldon Marlborough, Walmley, Coventry & North Warwickshire, Ambleside, Sutton Coldfield, Dorridge, Moseley Ashfield, Corley, Fillongley and Atherstone.
The teams were split into 4 groups of 3 and played each other in a round robin format with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. Each group produced a clear winner with a team in going unbeaten throughout the group stages and comfortably reaching the semi-finals.

Semi Final 1- Sheldon Marlborough vs Walmley

Walmley won the toss and decided to field first in the semi-final, Sheldon got off to an excellent start scoring 16 off the first over only to be pegged back by some accurate bowling and excellent fielding by the Walmley players. Wickets fell throughout the innings restricting the Sheldon score to 236 off their 8 overs.
Walmley got off to a solid start in their reply, scoring 221 after 4 overs. Sheldon struggled to stop the Walmley batsman scoring and Walmley finished on a comfortable 253, winning by a 17-run margin.

Semi Final 2- Coventry & NW vs Moseley

Semi Final 2 proved to be a much closer affair, Coventry batted first and posted an extremely competitive 243 off their 8 overs, thanks mainly to the final pair of batsman who added 24 runs in the final 2 overs.
Moseley’s chase started in the worst possible way losing 3 wickets in the opening 2 overs, after this disappointing start the boundaries started to come more freely with the remaining three pairs playing some fantastic attacking shots. After 15.5 overs of the game it all came down to the final ball, Moseley 1 run ahead, Coventry requiring a wicket to progress to the final. The Moseley player hit the ball on the up towards mid-off who charged in to take the winning catch to only find he slightly mis judged the flight of the ball and it dropped yards over his head, an enthralling end to a fantastic semi final played by two very strong sides. Moseley won by 2 runs.

Final- Moseley vs Walmley

Not many could argue with the two teams who met in the final, the cricket played throughout the day from these two sides was of the highest standard and a copy of the 2017 final which Walmley won.
Moseley batted first and unlike the semi final they got off to a tremendous start scoring 227 off the first 2 overs. The scoring continued to increase throughout the innings until two tight overs to finish off the innings from the Walmley bowlers restricted the Moseley batters to 240 off their 8 overs.
Walmley’s reply got off to a poor start with the score only on 205 off the first 6 overs where the game looked all but over still requiring 36 runs to regain their title. The final pair of Walmley batters however had other ideas, the 7th over of the innings going for 30 runs and suddenly the game had turned on its head and the final over started with Walmley requiring 6 off 6. Walmley looked all but set to win scoring 8 off the first 3 balls, giving them a 2-run lead. A fantastic 5th ball from the Moseley bowler secured a vital wicket for his team which meant Walmley now required 3 to win off the final ball. Unfortunately for the heroic final Walmley pair the Moseley bowler held his nerve and only went for one run. A fantastic final fitting for the days cricket that was played in the true spirit of the game throughout.
A huge congratulation’s go out to this year’s Under 9’s soft ball winners Moseley CC.

WCB would like to firstly thank Edgbaston and Warwickshire CCC for allowing us to use the ground a day that I’m sure the children and their families wont forget for a while and a final thanks to all the players, coaches and families of all the clubs for supporting the children throughout the summer and finals day.